All are encouraged to “Say Yes!” to organ, eye and tissue donation this National Donate Life Month

All are encouraged to “Say Yes!” to organ, eye and tissue donation this National Donate Life Month

Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network joins communities across Illinois and northwest Indiana to inspire 25,000 new donor registrations this April.

ITASCA, Ill. – Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network is urging residents in the northern three quarters of Illinois and northwest Indiana to “Say Yes!” to registering as organ and tissue donors during National Donate Life Month in April.

More than 104,000 adults and children in the U.S. — including more than 5,000 in Illinois and Indiana—are waiting for a life-saving organ transplant, with a new person added to the national transplant waitlist every 7.5 minutes.

The need is critical. 95% of people in the United States support donation, yet fewer than 60% are registered organ, eye and tissue donors. Illinois and northwest Indiana residents can learn more about organ, eye and tissue donation and register their decision at giftofhope.org. Residents can also register through the Illinois Secretary of State’s Life Goes On website, the Donate Life Indiana donor registry, or in person at a state driver’s services facility.

Throughout April, hundreds of advocates including hospitals, coroners, funeral directors, ambassadors, municipalities and other community partners throughout Illinois and northwest Indiana will join Gift of Hope to organize events in support of organ and tissue donation, commemorate donors and their families and offer hope to the thousands of adults and children waiting for a second chance at life.

“This National Donate Life Month, we are proud of the joint effort of our community, partners and advocates to encourage everyone who isn’t registered as a donor to learn more about donation, register as a donor and talk to their family about their decision,” said Harry Wilkins, MD, President/CEO of Gift of Hope. “Together, we can bring hope and healing to the more than 104,000 people waiting for a life-saving organ transplant.”

Almost everyone has the opportunity to save lives through donation. One individual can save up to eight lives as an organ donor, heal more than 75 people in need of skin grafts, bone or tendon grafts or other donated tissue, and help restore sight for two people.

Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network is the nonprofit organ procurement organization (OPO) that coordinates organ and tissue donation and provides public education on donation in Illinois and northwest Indiana. As one of 55 OPOs that make up the nation’s organ donation system, Gift of Hope works with 180 hospitals and serves 12 million people in its donation service area. Since 1986, its work has saved the lives of more than 29,000 organ transplant recipients and improved the lives of hundreds of thousands of tissue transplant recipients. For more information, visit giftofhope.org.


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